Welcome to your summer festival guide

May 14, 2018 04:23PM
● By Travis Barton

Hundreds of people listened to various bands at last year’s Heart and Soul Music Stroll in Sugar House, including Jaboom at Imperial Park. This year’s version will take place on June 10. (Travis Barton/City Journals)

Each year,
cities across the Salt Lake Valley hold a summer celebration to commemorate the
community, city or country. They do so with parades, contests, music and
fireworks. This year’s slate of festivals starts after Memorial Day and will
run into fall. Here’s a chronological guide to everything on tap for summer
2018.

SoJo Summerfest | May 30-June 2

South Jordan
kicks off the summer spectacles with its third annual SoJo Summerfest. This
replaced its traditional Country Fest two years ago.

The four-day
festival features events all over the city from Mulligans Golf Course (10600
South 692 West) and City Park (11000 South Redwood Road) to the public works
parking lot (10996 South Redwood Road) and fitness and aquatic center (10866
South Redwood Road).

Held at W&M
Butterfield Park (14200 South 6212 West), Herriman’s annual rodeo features a
family night on Friday and military night on Saturday. The rodeo will also
include a special needs roundup on Saturday from 3-4:30 p.m.

The seventh
annual Heart and Soul Music Stroll returns to Sugar House on June 9. Dozens of local performers
will share their musical talents throughout the day (last year featured 44).

Free to the
community, the Music Stroll has 14 different locations spread throughout a two
block radius along Filmore and Glenmore streets between 2700 South and Zenith
Avenue. Thirteen performing areas are arranged on front lawns with one stage
set up at Imperial Park (1560 East Atkin Avenue).

Heart and Soul
is a non-profit organization based out of Salt Lake City that aims to bring the
“healing power of music” to people in isolation. Performers donate their time
throughout the year performing at places like senior centers, prisons or
hospitals.

Streets are
lined not only with hundreds of people but several food trucks as well.

What started in
the late ‘70s at Grange Park with a car show, pony rides and a few food booths
has blossomed into one of West Valley City’s premier events.

The annual
celebration, which commemorates the establishment of West Valley City and the
recognition of its residents’ various backgrounds, will take place at
Centennial Park (5415 West 3100 South) from June 14-17.

The 2018 version
will feature a WestFest Sombrero Bowl Skate Competition, the 13th
annual Dutch Oven Cookoff, a 5K and 10K and entertainment from No limits, This
is YOUR Band, Chance McKinney and Channel Z.

For more
information and for those interested in volunteering, visit westfest.org.

Fort Herriman Towne Days | June 18-23

The city’s weeklong celebration of everything Herriman begins on Monday
June 18 with a talent show and ends on Saturday June 23 with a carnival, parade
and fireworks.

Each day of the
week features something different such as a disc golf tournament, home run
derby, K9 and trampoline shows and a foam party.

All events will
take place at W&M Butterfield Park (6212 West 14200 South), J. Lynn Crane
Park (5355 West Main Street) and Rosecrest Park (13850 South Rosecrest Road)
where the Herriman Hyzer Disc Golf Tournament will take place.

Located at
Valley Regional Park (5100 South 2700 West), Taylorsville Dayzz holds a full
slate for its city celebration on the west side of the valley.

From Thursday
afternoon at 4 p.m. when the carnival begins to Saturday’s fireworks finale at
10 p.m., the festival is non-stop with entertainment.

Tributes bands
Imagine (Beatles) along with the West Valley Symphony & Cannons will
perform Thursday night, Desperado (Eagles) takes the stage Friday night and
Stayin’ Alive (Bee Gees) with the Taylorsville Orchestra will close it out on
Saturday. Every show is free to the public.

Saturday also
includes a 5K fun run, pony rides and a car show. A full list of events and
times is available at taylorsvilledayzz.com.

Riverton Town Days | June 28-July 4

Riverton starts its
celebration one day early this year on June 28 with its 3-Man Arena Sorting Competition
and the Riverton Rodeo and runs right through to July 4 with its full slate of
activities on Independence Day.

July 4 will
feature the 11th annual ATV Rodeo (Riverton Rodeo Grounds, 12780
South 1300 West) where races will include pole bending, barrel racing, panty
hose race, key hole race and a hide race. Independence Day will also see
Riverton Country Mile 10K, 5K and 1-mile races in addition to the Tour de
Riverton bike race. The starting lines will begin on the south side of Riverton
City Park at 12800 South.

Food, hay dives,
a July 3 evening parade are still on the docket for this tradition since the
early 1900s. For more information, visit rivertoncity.com.

Western Stampede | June 30-July 4

What starts with
a fun run, children’s parade, carnival and family fun night on June 30,
continues with the focus of West Jordan’s summer festival—its rodeo.

July 2-4
features a PRCA rodeo at the city’s rodeo arena, 8035 South 2200 West. The
rodeo also features the winner of the Western Stampede Queen Contest, which was
scheduled for May 12.

Beginning at
8:30 a.m. will be the annual parade, which begins at Fashion Place Mall (6100
South State Street) and ends at the west end of Murray Park (296 East Murray
Park Avenue). Awards are given for the following parade entry categories:
special interest/antique, business/commercial, equestrian/animal and
civic/royalty/political/float.

The rest of the
day takes place at Murray Park. It features a community breakfast, chalk art
contest, talent show, a Ducky Derby along the creek in Murray Park, a coed
volleyball tournament on the softball field and ends with fireworks.

South Salt Lake
will continue its festival tradition at Fitts Park (3050 South 500 East) on
July 4. The day begins with a 5K fun run at 8 a.m. while the parade gets
underway at 9:30 a.m. and the one-day celebration rounds out with a festival
from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Sandy City 4th of July | July
4

Sandy holds its
Independence Day Celebration on the grassy promenade between Sandy City Hall
and South Town Mall at 10000 South Centennial Parkway.

At 6 p.m. the
parade begins with a concert at 7:30 p.m. and fireworks to close out the night
at 10 p.m.

Draper Days | July 5-7, 12-14

Draper’s
festival will take place over two weekends in July.

Culminating in
the second weekend with fireworks and concerts, Draper Days will begin with
various athletic contests the first weekend including a tennis tournament,
pickleball tournament and 3 v 3 basketball tournament.

Cottonwood
Heights continues its traditional celebration this year on Monday and Tuesday,
July 23-24.

Planned by
volunteers, city staff and the Cottonwood Heights Recreation Center;
Butlerville Days takes place at Butler Park (7500 South 2700 East).

The festival
expects to have games, entertainment, a carnival, parade and fireworks show. A
creative craft market and pickleball tournament are recent additions to the
yearly commemoration to go along with the 5K fun run.

Bluffdale Old West Days | July 27-28,
August 6-11

Community members look at cars during Bluffdale’s Old West Days 2016 celebration. (City Journals)

While the rodeo
will take place July 27-28, the city’s official Old West Days celebration goes
all week long in August.

Details for
events are still to come, but if last year is anything to go by then this year
can expect another monster truck competition. Last year also featured a 25-mile
cycling ride and ATV rodeo.

1938 marked the
first Harvest Days in Midvale, 80 years ago according to the Midvale Historical
Society. It was sponsored by the Midvale Kiwanis club.

Details are
still being ironed out, but the weeklong celebration of Midvale, begins August
6. The week’s events generally feature an induction into the Midvale Arts
Council’s Hall of Honors, a parade and a grand festival and Midvale’s City Park
(between Center Street and 7500 South, at approximately 425 West).

Holladay City Hall Park will play host to its annual Blue Moon Arts Festival on Aug. 25. (City Journals)

Holladay rounds
out the summer season with its annual Blue Moon Arts Festival. The one-day celebration is different
from other cities’ week-long engagements.

Holladay will
have its Concerts in the Commons series running from July 14 through Aug. 25.
July will also feature Jim McGee’s ambitious art project combining storytelling
and large-scale charcoal portraits. “It’s an opportunity for people to model
and collaborate, to be seen and heard in a unique kind of way,” McGee told the
Journals in February.

Culminating in a
festival for music and arts, the Blue Moon Arts Festival takes place at
Holladay City Hall Park (4580 South 2300 East) from 3-10 p.m. on Aug. 25.

This year’s
musical attractions will include Motown group Changing Lanes Experience and
Gypsy jazz group Red Rock Hot Club.